This review may sound a little too critical for a kids set, but I hope this honesty helps you decide. I do like the set and I wasn't expecting great things but there are a few areas that really should have been better. I'll run through each item with a brief description.
Drums:
*Snare drum Shell & rim construction are fine. The skins will hold up to gentle use. The snare is just a brush of wires set against the upper skin which can be adjusted for pressure by turning the side knob. Apart from the snare sound being fairly awful, the drum itself is a lot quieter than a real snare which may appeal to many parents. (I wasn't expecting to use this snare and ordered a 10 inch Pearl Firecracker to replace it, which is great but very loud.)
*Toms Shell & rim construction are as the snare and sound really good when tuned up.
*Floor Tom Shell & rim construction are the same, legs seem good and plenty sturdy with good height adjustment.
Overall, the drum shells, rims and skins are very good and well worth it.
Hardware:
Hi-Hat Stand Pedal is okay, it's belt (small fabric strip) driven. Seems sturdy enough for a child (adult feet should tread lightly though). My only complaint is that the top-cymbal retaining nut was really (I mean really) badly mis-threaded and caused the top hat cymbal to rest at about a 15 degree angle. I had to go to the hardware store to find a nut to replace this, annoying as the person putting this together should have just thrown this nut away and picked up another one and saved me wasting an hour of my life.
Drum pedal Pedal is pretty bad. Same little strap driving it which is fine for very light use. There's no spring adjustment and the arm link for the spring to hook onto was badly machined so the hammer only had about an inch of travel to the skin, which makes it hard to get any feel or action from the pedal. (I've ordered a 30 dollar replacement from ebay, as I was so disappointed)
Snare Stand Shockingly bad. What is supplied is different from what is in the photo in the instruction manual which should be a regular lightweight stand with height and angle adjustment. What I received was a three leg stand with a wing-nut in the top of a straight shaft and three loose pieces of metal angles to put under the wing-nut to try and balance the snare drum on. This is a really bad and cheapskate stand. I'm most upset because the instructions indicated that a real stand was included and showed how to put a real stand together. As it's not adjustable in height, it's too high for my son and I'll have to find a replacement.
Seat/throne excellent little seat with three heights of adjust-ability.
Cymbals:
Don't even think about using them unless you have the set in a soundproof room. Awful pretty much sums them up, but you shouldn't expect anything else at this price point. They are something for the kid to hit, so I'm not complaining. I got a set of cheap 10" Meinl hi-hats and a really cheap 10" Meinl splash. I put the bottom hat and the splash together on the hi-hat stand and used the slightly heavier top hat as the crash. Seems to work pretty well and sounds OK.
Overall good drums but bad hardware.
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My sister-in-law and I assembled this Christmas Eve in less than 30 minutes. The drum set looks great and our three boys (ages 5, 7 and 10) LOVE IT! They have been playing it non-stop and it sounds great. I thought it might be too small for the 10 year old, but it isn't and he loves it. SO relieved that it was a hit! I recommend this set whole-heartedly.
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We bought this drum set for our 3 yr old for Christmas. We've had other cheaper drum sets that didn't last very long. This set is well worth the money. Our son is musically inclined and plays with it constantly. The set comes with its own stool and set of drum sticks. The drums and cymbols are of good quality and will last a long time. Everything is height adjustable. He plays the drums and sings with his karoke mike that he also got from Santa. I highly recommend this set....again,it is WELL WORTH THE MONEY!
Honest reviews on Mendini MJDS-5-BL Complete 16-Inch 5-Piece Blue Junior Drum Set
Be aware that the 1-year manufacturer warranty is a joke!
I contacted Ceciliomusic com since the crash cymbal broke after 4 months of use. Unfortunately the manufacturer stated it was not covered under the warranty. Even after repeated attempts to understand why, I basically just got a generic answer and was informed I would have to work with the dealer, i.e. Amazon, which I did. Amazon was able to go above and beyond with their customer service and I'm getting a replacement cymbal in the end, but I wanted to make folks aware that the "warranty" effectively does not exist and that the quality is pretty bad! Why would a crash cymbal break after such short time period?
In addition, the instructions that came with the set were pretty bad. It stated that we needed a particular piece to assemble one of the stands that was missing in the package. Only after contacting Amazon to obtain the missing piece, I was told that the instructions were incorrect, and one can actually assemble the stand without that piece.
The instructions also are lacking any information on who to contact for the warranty, so only through Amazon was I able to get the contact details. Pretty bad customer service overall in terms of Ceciliomusic itself.
Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Mendini MJDS-5-BL Complete 16-Inch 5-Piece Blue Junior Drum Set
This drum set is excellent for beginners! I bought this set for my son's 5th birthday and he absolutely loves them! They are just the right size for him! My only critcism is that the instructions were a little vague. I do not play drums and did not know how to set them up. After looking directions up on the internet I finally figured it out. Other than that, they are great!
